Gracie gurgled and smiled a bit. Probably a good idea that she didn’t get too attached to Gracie, though she knew it was too late for that. She’d become attached the first time she’d held the little girl in her arms.
Now that she was here with Chay, the bond had deepened. Seeing a face so similar to his when she held Gracie, it made her…well, dream of a future with him. She’d sort of danced around that before, but now it was time to really focus and decide. They were going to be snowed in here for a few days at the least.
This time was a gift. A chance to see how they’d be as a family, which was what Ava wanted. She knew that Chay was leery of getting involved with her and Gracie long-term.
He was rolling with the flow and adjusting as his own past tried to pull him under, but the truth was she was there with him. She felt the same way he did. Scared to say she wanted a family of her own. Scared to risk it. But after the break-in the other night had stirred up old memories and wounds, she knew that she had to make a choice.
Let Daniel Wayne continue to control her future or shake him off and start to build the life she now knew she wanted. One with Chay and Gracie.
Driving around making sure everyone was prepared for the blizzard heading their way was different than the previous years. This time he was thinking about Gracie and Ava. His little family waiting at home for him. In the past he’d stay out on patrol because there was no one waiting at home. His boss had been clear that Chay should go home. He’d call him out if he was needed.
After making sure his grandmother had extra food, wood and blankets, he headed back to his house. For the first time he realized that it felt a lot like a home. His place had always been more of a sanctuary, but now it was both. A place to rest from the world and a home he saw himself sharing…was that true? Did he want to share his home with Ava?
The answer was an unequivocal yes. But he knew there would still be some steps back. He wasn’t one to just barrel into things. Ava needed time as well. Like she’d said, they all had some form of PTSD from living.
He’d had some time to think about that today and realized just how deeply that had affected him. He’d always sort of just thought everyone else had their shit together. That other families were normal and not broken and messed up like his had been.
Other people had more than just a grandmother to rely on. Not that he’d really ever needed more than her. If he was only going to have one relative, he was glad it was her.
Which brought him around to Gracie. If she were adopted by a Navajo family, she’d be part of the bigger community in the same way his grandmother was. Chay had come back here too late to really feel settled in his soul, though he couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
He turned off the main road and onto the track that lead to his house. The snow was so thick now that he struggled to see, slowing his truck to only five miles per hour. Soon he saw the lights in his house blazing.
He wasn’t sure how long the electricity would stay on, but he’d never seen a more welcome sight. As soon as he tromped up the stairs, the door opened. Ava, holding Gracie in her arms, held it for him as he walked inside and slammed it shut behind him.
“Dang, it’s cold. You must be freezing,” she said.
He kicked the snow off his boots and took off his shearling jacket, putting it on a hook.
“Mamama,” Gracie said.
“Hey, little one,” he said as they both moved into the living area.
Gracie squirmed to get down, and Ava let her. “Want some coffee? I just made a fresh pot.”
“I’d love some. I need to check the generator in the garage and do a few more things before I can stay here,” he said.
“Go on then. I did as much as I could think of. Do you need me to help?”
He shook his head and then went into the mudroom and checked that the emergency generator was connected before going into the garage and to fuel it up and get it ready for when they lost power.
The tribal police department had sent out a warning to residents not to use a generator in the house. The fuel-powered machines gave off carbon monoxide, which was deadly. More than once he’d gone to a home after an emergency situation and found the family dead from their own generator.
He could tell Ava was Utah born and bred, because she’d taken care of everything like a seasoned survivor. The wood was stocked up and all the supplies were ready for them to use. He noticed when he came back inside that she’d gathered bedding so they could sleep in front of the fireplace.
Gracie was nowhere to be seen when he returned. “Where’d Gracie go?”
“I put her to bed. She was getting sleepy. It is her nap time,” Ava said. “I’ve got the monitor.”
He noticed she had the app open on her phone. “What else do you need to do?”
Ava poured them both some coffee. “I’m meant to talk to a client this morning at eleven. I wondered if I could use your bedroom for that. Can you keep an ear out for Gracie?”
“I sure can,” he said, noting that she had about fifteen minutes until her call. “Do you video chat with them normally?”
“Some of my clients. It’s really down to preference. One of them will only talk on the phone. He doesn’t like to see me or to be seen,” she said.
“And you accommodate them all?” He hadn’t really taken time to know the everyday part of her job.
